Popular Technology Volume II Part 14

15. Even as late as the sixteenth century, ministers rode to court, and magistrates of imperial cities to council, on the back of this animal; and, in the same manner, kings and lords made their public entry on the most solemn occasions. In accounts of papal ceremonies which occurred during several centuries, we find no mention of a state-coach; but, instead of it, state-horses or state-mules. The horse for his holiness was required to be a gentle and tractable nag, of a gray color; and a stool with three steps was necessary to aid him in mounting. The emperor or kings, if present, held his stirrup, and led his beast. Bishops also made their public entrance on horses or a.s.ses richly decorated.

16. Covered carriages, however, were known in the princ.i.p.al states of Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; but they were at first used only by women of rank, since the men thought it disgraceful to ride in them. At this period, when the electors of the German empire did not choose to be present at the meetings of the states, they excused themselves to the emperor by stating that their health would not permit them to ride on horseback, and it was not becoming for them to ride like women.

17. But, for a long time, the use of carriages was forbidden even to women; and, as late as the year 1545, the wife of a certain duke obtained from him, with great difficulty, the privilege of using a covered carriage in a journey to the baths. The permission was granted on the condition that her attendants should not enjoy the same favor.

Nevertheless, it is certain that emperors, kings, and princes, began to employ covered carriages on journeys, in the fifteenth century; and a few instances occur of their use in public solemnities. Amba.s.sadors appeared, for the first time, in coaches, at a public solemnity, in 1613, at Erfurth.

18. In the history of France, we find many proofs, that, in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, the French monarchs commonly rode on horses, the servants of the court on mules, and the princesses, together with the princ.i.p.al ladies, sometimes at least, on a.s.ses. Carriages of some sort, however, appear to have been used at a very early period there. An ordinance of Philip the Fair, issued in 1294, forbids their use by the wives of citizens.

19. In the year 1550, three coaches were introduced into Paris; one of which belonged to the queen, another to Diana de Poictiers, and the third to Raimond de Laval, a cavalier of the court of Francis I., who was so large that no horse could carry him. It is not certain, however, that the body of these vehicles were suspended on leather straps. The inventor of this material improvement cannot be ascertained, nor is it positively determined, that it had been made, until about the middle of the seventeenth century.

20. Coaches were introduced into Spain and Portugal, in the year 1546, and into Sweden near the close of the same century. In the capital of Russia, there were elegant coaches as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century. In Switzerland, they were rare, as late as 1650.

Carriages began to be used at Naples in the thirteenth century; from this place they spread all over Italy; and here, also, gla.s.s panels originated.

21. Carriages of some sort were used in England at a very early period, and those first employed by the ladies, were called _whirlicoats_. According to some authors, coaches were introduced in the year 1555; but, according to others, not until twenty-five years after this period. Before the latter date, Queen Elizabeth, on public occasions, rode on the same horse with her chamberlain, seated behind him on a pillion; although, in the early part of her reign, she owned a chariot.

22. In 1601, men were forbidden the use of the coach by act of Parliament, the legislators supposing such indulgence to be too effeminate; but this law seems to have been little regarded, as this vehicle was in common use, about the year 1605. Twenty years after this time, hackney coaches began to ply in London; but these were prohibited, in 1635, on the alleged ground that the support of so many horses increased the expense of keeping those belonging to the king.

Two years after this, however, fifty coaches were licensed, and, in 1770, there were one thousand.

23. The stage-coach was first employed in France, and was introduced into England, near the middle of the eighteenth century, by Jethro Tull, the celebrated agriculturist. They were not employed, in any country, in the transportation of the mail, until the year 1784.

Before this time, it was carried chiefly on horseback.

24. In the United States, the manufacture of carriages of every kind has greatly increased within a few years, and those lately made exhibit many improvements on those of former periods. The places which seem to be most distinguished for the manufacture of good carriages, in this country, are Philadelphia, Newark, and Troy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: POTTER.]

THE POTTER.

1. The artisan called the potter converts plastic materials into hard and brittle vessels of various kinds, denominated, in general terms, _earthen ware_.

2. Alumine is the basis of all clays, and is the only earth that possesses the degree of plasticity which renders the operations of the potter practicable. It is, however, never found or used in a pure state, but in combination with other substances, particularly with silex, lime, magnesia, and the oxyde of iron.

3. In the manufacture of vessels from argillaceous compounds, the different degrees of beauty and costliness depend upon the quality of the raw materials, and the labor and skill expended in the operation.

The various productions of the pottery may be cla.s.sed under the following denominations--common earthen ware, white earthen ware, stone ware, and porcelain; but of each of these there are many varieties.

4. _Common earthen ware._--This ware is made of a kind of clay very generally diffused over the earth, and which is essentially the same with that employed in making bricks. The potters are often supplied with this material by the brickmakers, who select for them that which is too tenacious, or _fat_, for their own purpose. All common clays contain more or less of the oxyde of iron, which causes the wares made of them to turn red in burning.

5. In preparing the clay for use, the potter adds to it, when necessary, a portion of fine loam, in order to lessen its tenacity, and to prevent the vessels to be made of it from cracking, while undergoing the fire. When the materials have been mixed, and partially incorporated with water, the ma.s.s is thrown into a tub, fixed in the ground about one-half of its depth. In the centre of this tub, is placed a shaft, in a perpendicular position, from which radiate, in a horizontal direction, a number of knives or cutters.

6. This machine is put in motion by horse-power, and by it the clay is repeatedly cut, and properly kneaded. The workman then cuts it into thin slices with a small wire, and, having rejected all matters not fit for his purpose, he further kneads it with his hands, and forms it into lumps, corresponding in amount of matter with the different vessels which he proposes to make.

7. For the best kinds of this ware, the same species of clay is used; but then it is differently prepared. It is first dissolved in water; and, when the coa.r.s.er particles have settled to the bottom of the vessel, the fluid suspending the rest is drawn off, and made to pa.s.s through a sieve into a reservoir. After the particles of the material have precipitated, the water is drawn off, and the residuum is thrown upon a large flat pan or reservoir made of bricks, where the ma.s.s is freed from its superfluous moisture by evaporation in the air, or by means of artificial heat applied beneath. It is then laid by in a damp place, for future use.

8. Before the clay, thus purified from extraneous and coa.r.s.er particles, is formed into vessels, it is beaten with a stout piece of wood, until the ma.s.s has become of an equal consistence throughout, and then repeatedly cut into two pieces with a wire, and slapped together to expel the air. The former of these operations is called _wedging_, and the latter, _slapping_.

9. _White and cream-colored wares_ are made of clays which contain so little oxyde of iron, that it does not turn red in burning, but, on the contrary, improves in whiteness in the furnace. There are several species of white clay, found in many different localities, most of which, however, are known under the denomination of _pipe-clay_; or they are distinguished by the names of the places where they are obtained.

10. In preparing these clays for use, they are reduced to a minute division by machinery, and afterwards dissolved in water, and otherwise treated in a manner similar to that used for the better kinds of common wares, as described in the seventh and eighth paragraphs. For the purpose of diminis.h.i.+ng the shrinkage in the fire, and with the view of increasing the whiteness of the ware, pulverized flint-stone is added to the clay, in the proportion of about one part of the former to five of the latter.

11. In reducing the silex to the requisite fineness, it is first brought to a red heat; and, while in this state, it is thrown into cold water, to diminish the cohesion of its parts. It is then pounded by machinery, levigated with water in a mill, sifted, mashed, and otherwise treated like the clay. The materials are mixed while in a state of thin pulp.

12. The several operations performed by the potter, in converting the clay thus prepared into different kinds of vessels, and in completing the whole process of the manufacture of earthen ware, may be included under the following divisions, viz., throwing, turning, pressing, burning, painting and printing, and glazing. They are not, however, all used in producing and finis.h.i.+ng vessels of every shape and quality.

13. _Throwing._--This operation is performed on a potter's wheel, which consists of a round table, and some simple means to put it in motion. The clay having been placed on the centre of this machine, the workman communicates to the latter a rotary motion with his foot, and gives the proposed form to the material with his hands, which have been previously wet with water, to prevent them from sticking. This method is used for all vessels and parts of vessels of a circular form; and, in many cases, no other operation is necessary to give them the requisite finish, so far as their conformation is concerned.

14. _Turning._--The vessels are cut from the thrower's wheel with a small wire; and when, by the evaporation of moisture, they have become firm enough to endure the operation, they are turned on a lathe. The objects of this operation are to communicate to them a more exact shape, and to render them more uniform in thickness. The potter's wheel, with the addition of some contrivance to hold the pieces in a proper position, is frequently used for turning. The coa.r.s.er kinds of common wares are never turned.

15. _Pressing._--Vessels, or parts of vessels, which are of an irregular shape, and which cannot be formed on the wheel, are usually made by a process called _pressing_. This kind of work is executed in moulds made of plaster of Paris, and these are formed on models of clay or wood, which have been made in the exact shape of the proposed vessel. Sometimes individual specimens of the wares of one country or pottery are used as models in another; in such cases, the expense of the moulds is considerably diminished.

16. The moulds frequently consist of several parts, which fit accurately together; for example, the mould for a pitcher is composed of two pieces for the sides, and one for the bottom. In forming a pitcher in such a mould, the material, which has been spread out to a proper and uniform thickness, is laid upon the inside of each portion of it, and the superfluous clay is trimmed off with a knife. The mould is then closed, and thin strips of clay are laid over the seams; the removal of the several pieces of the mould, completes the operation.

17. Handles, spouts, figures in relief, and other additions of this nature, are separately made in moulds, and stuck on the vessel with the same kind of materials, sometimes mingled with a small proportion of plaster of Paris. These appendages are added after the vessels have become partially solid in the air.

18. _Burning._--All vessels, even after they have been dried in the atmosphere, are in a very frangible state; and, to render them sufficiently firm for use, they are submitted to the process of burning in a kiln. To preserve the ware from injury while enduring the fire, the several pieces are enclosed in cylindrical boxes called _saggers_, which are made of baked clay. These boxes are placed one above another around the sides of the kiln, which is of a circular form, and gradually tapering to the top.

19. In burning the coa.r.s.er wares, every piece is not thus inclosed; but, between every two saggers, a naked piece is placed. A moderate fire is first raised, which is gradually increased, until the contents of the kiln are brought to a red heat. The burning occupies between twenty-four and forty-eight hours. All wares, except the coa.r.s.est kinds, are twice, and sometimes thrice, burned; and, after having been once submitted to the process, they are said to be in a state of _biscuit_.

20. _Painting and printing._--When the vessels are to be ornamented with colors, it is necessary, in most cases, that this part of the work be done after the first burning. In China, and at the porcelain manufactory in Philadelphia, the drawings are executed by hand with a pencil. The same method is used in Europe in elaborate pieces of workmans.h.i.+p. But, in the common figured wares, where but one color is used, the designs are first engraved on metallic plates, and impressions are taken from them on thin paper, by means of a copperplate printing-press.

21. In transferring to vessels designs thus produced, the paper, while in a damp state, is applied closely to the surface of the biscuit, and rubbed on with a piece of flannel. The porosity of the earthen material causes the immediate absorption of the coloring matter, which, in all cases, is some metallic oxyde. For a blue color, the oxyde of cobalt is used; and for a black, those of manganese and iron.

The paper is washed from the ware with a sponge.

22. _Glazing._--To prevent the penetration of fluids, and to improve the appearance of the ware, a superficial vitreous coating is necessary. This can be produced by the aid of various substances; but, in a majority of cases, red lead is the basis of the mixture employed for this purpose. Equal parts of ground flints and red lead are used for the common cream-colored wares. These materials are mixed with, and suspended in, water, and each piece is dipped in the liquid. The moisture is soon absorbed by the clay, leaving the glazing particles on the surface, which, in the burning that follows, is converted into a uniform and durable vitreous coating.

23. _Stone ware._--The materials of this ware, as well as the mode of preparing them, differ but little from those of the common and better kinds of earthen wares. The clays, however, which contain but little or no oxyde of iron are chosen, since this substance would cause the ware to melt and warp, before a sufficient degree of heat could be applied to give it the requisite hardness.

24. The glazing is formed by a vitrification of the surface of the vessels, caused by the action of common salt thrown into the kiln, when it has been raised to its greatest heat. This glazing is more perfect than that on ordinary earthen wares, being insoluble by most chemical agents. It is hardly necessary to remark that this method of glazing precludes the use of saggers.

25. _Porcelain._--This ware exceeds every other kind in the delicacy of its texture, and is peculiarly distinguished by a beautiful semi-transparency, which is conspicuous when held against the light.

In China, it is made chiefly of two kinds of earth; one of which is denominated _petuntze_, and the other _kaolin_; but both are varieties of feldspar, found in the mountains, in different localities. They are brought to the manufactories from a distance in the form of bricks; the materials, as taken from the mines, having been reduced to an impalpable powder in mortars, either by the labor of men or by water-power.

26. These materials are combined in different proportions in the manufacture, according to the quality of the proposed ware. In the best kind, equal quant.i.ties are used; but for those of inferior quality, a greater proportion of petuntze is employed. The translucency so much admired in porcelain, or _tseki_, as the Chinese call it, is owing to the petuntze, which, in burning, partially melts, and envelops the infusible kaolin.

27. It is not known who was the inventor of porcelain, as the Chinese annals are silent with regard to this point; nor do we know more of the date at which the manufacture was commenced. It is certain, however, that it must have been before the fifth century of the Christian era. Since this ware has been known to Europeans, it has been manufactured chiefly, and in the greatest perfection, in the large and populous village of King-te-ching.

28. Porcelain was first brought to Europe from j.a.pan and China, and for a long time its materials and mode of manufacture remained a secret, in spite of the efforts of the Jesuit missionaries, who resided in those countries. At length, in 1712, Father Entrecolles sent home to France, specimens of petuntze and kaolin, together with a summary description of the process of the manufacture.

29. Shortly after this important event had transpired, it was discovered that materials nearly of the same kind existed in abundance in various parts of Europe. The manufacture of porcelain was, therefore, soon commenced in several places; and it has since been successfully carried on.

30. The porcelain wares of Europe are superior to those of the Chinese, in the variety and elegance of their forms, as well as in the beauty of the designs executed upon them; but, as some of the processes successfully practised in China, remain still to be learned by the Europeans, the Oriental porcelain has not yet been equalled in the hardness, strength, and durability of its body, and in the permanency of its glaze. The manufacturers of Saxony are said to have been the most successful in their imitations in these respects.

31. The porcelain earths are found in various parts of the United States, but particularly at Wilmington, in the state of Delaware.

Nevertheless, there is now but one porcelain manufactory in our country, and this is yet in its infancy. The establishment is located in Philadelphia, and it has been lately incorporated, with the privilege of one hundred thousand dollars capital.

32. The principle of induration by heat, is the same in the manufacture of earthen wares as in making bricks; and, as the latter can be more easily dispensed with than the former in a primitive state of society, it is but reasonable to suppose that earthen ware was first invented; but the art of making bricks must have been practised before the deluge, or the posterity of Noah would not have attempted so soon as about one hundred years after that catastrophe, to build a city and a tower of these materials. It is, therefore, evident, that this art was of antediluvian origin; and it was probably one of the earliest brought to any degree of perfection.